Answers
by PGILLUM486
Summary: Book 2 of the Roswell Chronicles. Now that they have the key to interpret the Destiny Book, what will they learn about themselves? Will they ever know all the answers? Liz needs answers too. What else will she discover about the family she always thou
1. Default Chapter

Title: Answers  
  
Author: PGILLUM486(or c. mccoy{my fanforum name})  
  
Rating: PG(like kids listen or give a damn)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack  
  
Distribution: Only if it increases my fame  
  
Summary: Now that they have the key to interpret the Destiny Book, what will they learn about themselves? Will they ever know all the answers? Liz needs answers too. What else will she discover about the family she'd always thought of as being just a normal american family?  
  
  
  
This is Book Two of the Roswell Chronicles - my own continuation of the Roswell story. To understand what's going on, you need to read my first story 'What Could Have Been'. Feedback is good.  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
  
  
Max looked up from the pages Alex had printed out for him that morning. There were only four of them but there was a lot to read.  
  
He had never imagined there could be so much. The metal book hadn't been that big - only about ten pages - but those few had been crammed packed with information and Alex had only made it through two of them. Even though he emphasized he couldn't be sure, Alex had said it appeared the last page contained maps and directions. To what, he didn't know yet.  
  
Max had thought Alex would be finished with it already but, evidently, it wasn't as easy as he had thought. It didn't help that the guy had been afflicted with severe headaches recently. Probably all that time staring at the computer screen Max thought as lay back on his bed.  
  
He was still getting used to the fact that they were free. No need to leave Earth, no need to save a star system they were no longer a part of, no need to leave the people they cared about. Nothing. As a matter of fact, the book had made it clear they were not to attempt to go home at all.  
  
Neither he nor Isabel could shake the message from their mother out of their thoughts though. She had made it sound as if she expected them to come home. Max wasn't too sure the message hadn't been tampered with after everything Tic-Tac had said about Naesado.  
  
Tess had said he had been against her showing them the pod chamber and he himself had warned them against setting the communicator off for fear of drawing unwanted attention to them. However, the best way to get teenagers to do what you don't want them to is to tell them not to. Had he used that bit of psychology to lure them into a trap? It was possible but it still didn't explain why the Skins had killed him if he was on their side.  
  
Still so many questions. He couldn't worry about them now. There would always be questions. He wanted to find out what the rest of the book said and get back to a somewhat normal life now he could relax a little. He no longer had to worry about being a king or saving the universe.  
  
He could concentrate on his life. Part of that life was coming over the next afternoon. Their parents had been ready to ground them both for life after their recent disappearing act. Liz had saved them both - again. She had apologized for leaving without a word about where she had gone and for pulling Max along. She had explained that she had been in the mood to research her family's history and had gotten so involved they had lost track of time.  
  
He wasn't sure they believed her completely but they had let them off the hook. To add more credibility to her story, she was going to spend the morning with her father and listen to him ramble about their relatives. She didn't expect to learn anything along the lines of what she needed to know but it would ease Jeff's doubts about the validity of her story.  
  
He pitied her for what he was sure she was going to be put through.  
  
  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Anyone who saw Liz's face would see one of pure boredom. She had been listening to her father give a long history of their family for almost an hour now. Having her teeth pulled was looking better and better by the minute.  
  
Jeff Parker couldn't see her face but he had watched as his daughter gradually slouched farther and farther in the booth she sat in. He didn't believed she had lied to them - he almost didn't think she knew how - but he didn't think she was telling them everything either.  
  
As long as Max Evans was involved, he didn't expect her to be completely honest. He still couldn't decide if Max was a good influence on her or not. During the time she'd been close to him, he and Nancy had seen her almost overflowing with excitement and than they'd seen her so miserable it broke their hearts - sometimes both in the span of twenty-four hours.  
  
All relationships were like that but this one was more extreme than any he'd ever seen before. It wasn't a comforting feeling. He often wondered what she kept from them - and there was a lot.  
  
"Your great-aunt used to fly around on a broomstick, Lizzie."  
  
He watched her nod. "Mmmmm, is that right, dad?" After a second, he saw her sit up straight and turn to face him. "What did you say?"  
  
"You haven't heard a word I've said in the past thirty minutes, have you?", he asked. "Did you lie to us, Liz?"  
  
Liz got up and walked over to take a seat by her father at the counter. "No, dad, I didn't lie. I'm just not really interested in much you've had to say. It's all been very informative.", she added hurriedly. "I'm just looking for certain details; details that may go back farther than you might be familiar with."  
  
"Like?"  
  
"I don't know.", she said. "Like...weird stuff - of the unexplainable variety."  
  
"Well, your great-great-grandmother had a pet raccoon that could say the alphabet.", he joked.  
  
Liz smiled. "Forget it. Forget it."  
  
"Look,", Jeff said. "The only thing I can tell you is the women in our family all share a lot of the same traits."  
  
"Yeah,", Liz said, leaning forward, intrigued. This was what she'd been looking for. "Like what?"  
  
"They share an uncanny sense of intuition, mom especially, that has served them well. They trust what their hearts tell them. They're also very intelligent. The men in the family have always made the comment that they married way over their heads. There are some traits that aren't so good too."  
  
"What are they?"  
  
"They've all lost their husbands early. Deep depression is something else they share too. I mean, it hasn't been the suicidal type but it's been pretty bad."  
  
"Even grandma?", Liz asked. Her father nodded. "But she always seemed so happy."  
  
"Well, she didn't have it as bad as others did.", Jeff explained. "She did have it though. I hope it's something our family's growing out of. Why do you ask?"  
  
She shook her head. "No reason. I always felt close to Grandma Claudia, like we shared something special - something besides the grandmother- granddaughter thing. I just wondered if there was something specific we all shared."  
  
Jeff smiled and turned to finish restocking the shelves. "I just wished some of it had rubbed off on the men."  
  
Be careful what you wish for Liz thought as she walked up the stairs to her room. She was still sore from her experience in the cave. She could still feel Lilith's sorrow over losing the man who she had loved and the man who had loved her.  
  
She remembered her own experiences with Max too. Each time she had lost him, it had hurt worse than the time before. If she lost him again, would it be the catalyst that brought about her own depression?  
  
Losing him was still a possibility. Max expected them to get back together now that they knew the connection between them was more powerful than anybody would have guessed. There was still the matter of Tess. Future Max had made it clear Tess was not to go too far. They needed her to make a complete unit.  
  
They had to make sure that happened. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
  
  
The noon sun filled Max's room as he sat in his desk chair. Isabel stood beside him, her eyes on Micheal, studying his reaction.  
  
Michael sighed, sat up on the bed and set the sheets of paper down on Max's desk. "Wow." He was still somewhat stunned by what he'd just read. "After all this time trying to get home and here we are."  
  
Max nodded, understanding his friend's shock. It hadn't quite sunk in for him either. "I know."  
  
"So,", Michael said, putting a voice to the facts he'd just read on paper. "The other set of pods - Zan, Rath, Lonnie and Ava - are duplicates, made to fool Khivar's goons in order to give us a normal life."  
  
"That was the plan.", Max said. "That would help explain why they were so....loud."  
  
"And alien.", Isabel reminded them. "I mean, that's what they were. Every alien we've been introduced as been so cold, so heartless. According to the book - and Naesado - aliens are just humans who have evolved a few thousand years ahead of schedule. I wonder how they became so cold?"  
  
Michael shook his head. "That doesn't make sense though. How can they be human? Their body structure is hardly anything like ours. You saw Naesado's form when we healed him. It was the form always talked about on TV shows and in alien books."  
  
"I thought about that too.", Max said. "But remember, humans are supposed to have evolved from monkeys and, while there are a lot of similarities between the two, there are vast differences too. Who knows what the human race could evolve into given a few thousand years. I guess everything really does have a price, including evolution. In that case, it cost us our humanity."  
  
"Unless something went wrong.", Isabel pointed out.  
  
Max leaned forward in his chair. "What do you mean?"  
  
"What if a natural step of evolution was skipped, Max. There was an author who wrote a book about a group of humans who discovered the secret to Utopia or something like that. Anyway, they messed up because they skipped an important step in the natural order of evolution. That could've happened in real life."  
  
Max nodded. "Makes sense."  
  
"The part about the duplicates makes sense.", Michael said. "Send them to New York to allow them to grow into loud mouth little twits and draw all the attention away from us. You two can debate all that other stuff."  
  
"I imagine my healing Liz threw a wrench into that plan.", Max said. "Speaking of which, she'll be here in a few minutes so...."  
  
He saw Michael and Isabel glance at each other. He'd seen that look at least a dozen times in the past few days when Liz or Tess's name was brought up. He hadn't even seen the latter but once since he and Liz had returned. Tess was avoiding him and his sister and best friend were hiding something from him.  
  
It appeared he and Liz weren't the only ones to have an eventful evening that night. Michael rose and headed for the door, Isabel close behind him. "Yeah,", he said, avoiding Max's eyes. "You and Liz should have some time alone. It's been a long time since you two have had that."  
  
"Yeah,", Isabel agreed. "I'll go see Alex and see if he's got anything else for us. Mom and dad won't be back for a few more hours. You and Liz can have the whole house."  
  
Max walked them to the door. "You don't have to do this, Iz."  
  
"It's no problem.", she said, rushing out the door. "Really."  
  
  
  
Alex wrapped the blankets around his thin frame tighter. He wasn't cold - or was he? He didn't feel cold but he couldn't stop shaking. Sweat cast a shiny glean over his face. He was no longer in control of his body. It trembled violently, his muscles twitched uncontrollably.  
  
This was the second time this had happened. It would pass. The last one had. He wished he knew what it was. He had had colds before and this was no cold. He had a feeling those headaches he'd been having were also part of this.  
  
He was having strange flashes too. They were almost like memories but they couldn't be. He had no recollection of any of them. He didn't remember Tess meeting him when he stepped off the plane from Sweden, going to UNM or searching ancient languages. None of these things had happened to him.  
  
A knock at the door brought him out of his reverie. "In-in a minute.", he said through chattering teeth.  
  
  
  
Isabel waited at the door of Alex's house.  
  
She had heard him answer. He had sounded weird. She hoped he was all right. Liz was the smart one among them but Alex was the brain when it came to the computer-type stuff. She had told Max that she thought they would be better off including him and she'd been right.  
  
He was the only one who could interpret the book that held all the answers to their destiny. That wasn't all though. Since he had returned from his trip, she'd noticed a change in him - one that had drawn her attention.  
  
She had treated him bad before, taken him for granted too many times. She'd made a point not to do that anymore. If he had been around more when the whole Vilondra situation came up, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so out of control.  
  
She probably would've pushed him away then too.  
  
The door opened.  
  
"Isabel.", Alex said, obviously surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"  
  
She shrugged. "I figured Max and Liz could use some time alone so here I am."  
  
Alex swung the door open wider. "Come on in."  
  
Isabel walked by him, brushing up against him as she did. When he turned toward her, she noticed he looked a little pale. His legs didn't seem too sturdy either. "You okay? You don't look too good."  
  
He waved her concern away. "I just didn't get much sleep."  
  
"Alex,", she admonished him. "We want to know what the book says but we don't want you killing yourself over it."  
  
"Hey, you guys aren't the only ones who want it decoded.", he said. "I'm pretty interested in it too. There's no telling what kind of secrets are in there."  
  
Isabel followed as he motioned her to come to his room. "You think so?"  
  
He nodded. "Sure. I mean, the book said aliens are just humans advanced thousands of years. We might learn how they came to be that way. Liz even thinks they may have originally been from Earth. Who knows what kind of things we'll learn about ourselves."  
  
"I guess you're right."  
  
Alex took a seat at his computer desk and brought up the file that had the decoded alien book on it. "I'll show you how this works. Maybe you can help me and we'll get this done faster."  
  
"Okay." Isabel quickly became fascinated with the difficult procedure required to break the alien code.  
  
If she had looked at Alex's fingers as they flew across the keyboard, she would've noticed them tremble when a spasm streaked through them, causing his lips to twitch in a grimace of pain. 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
  
  
"Hey, Max?", Liz asked as he walked into the living room, a glass of coke in each hand. "Why is part of this blacked out?"  
  
He set the glasses down on the coffee table. "Well,", he said, blushing. "They're...kind of...personal."  
  
"I thought all of this was-" Looking up, she noticed his embarrassment. Understanding dawned on her, causing her to blush too. "Oh." She quickly changed the subject. "So, is this basically telling you you're not a king."  
  
Max sat down on the couch beside Liz. "Well, not exactly. You might say I have a double identity. On one hand, I'm just a teenage boy with alien powers. On the other, I'm the reincarnation of a great king who many want dead out of fear I'll find my way home and claim what's rightfully mine."  
  
Liz sighed. "So nothing's really changed."  
  
Max took her hand in one of his and, gently, turned her face toward his with the other, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Everything has changed. If I showed up on Antar tomorrow morning, they would have to give me the throne. But I'm not going to. Even this book says it would be suicide and it couldn't have been written less than a year after Khivar took control. If the leaders at the Summit were willing to deal that was a good indication his hold hasn't slipped much - if any. My home is here, Liz."  
  
"It sounded like your mother expected you to come back and save them in that message.", Liz reminded him.  
  
"Isabel and I don't know whether or not we trust that message or not.", Max said. "Naesado could've tampered with it or completely made it up. Besides, we don't know if she's still alive and it's not worth getting killed over to find out."  
  
He leaned closer to her. Liz could feel every fiber in her body awaken as he came near her. She knew this feeling. She had felt it when they were together with every look, embrace and kiss.  
  
It was different this time though - stronger. His touch burned her skin with a white-hot intensity. They had been through so much. They deserved happiness. "Max..."  
  
"Liz," Max swallowed hard. "When I was in that cave, away from you for so long, I thought...I thought I was going to lose my sanity. I could feel it slipping through my fingers, Liz. That wasn't even real. If I was ever truly separated from you, I...I don't know what would happen to me. I don't think I would make it. I need you."  
  
Tears dimmed Liz's vision. "What are we going to do, Max?"  
  
He shook his head. "I don't know where we go from here." He wiped away a tear as it slid down her face. "But I know wherever it is, it's supposed to be with you."  
  
She shook her head. "But Tess--"  
  
"I don't love, Tess. We've grown closer since--" He stopped and swallowed again, unable to finish the sentence. "But not like that. I told you. She can never be you, Liz."  
  
She pulled away as he leaned closer - but only a little. She was tired of feeling this way. Their time apart had been hard on both of them. Her experience in the cave, her heart, everything told her to surrender to this all-encompassing love once again. The Future Max situation she had examined so hard just four days ago still bothered her. Maybe it would always bother her.  
  
Max pressed his lips to her's. Liz hesitated only a moment before allowing his mouth to claim hers, his tongue drawing hers into the dance they had danced dozens of times before.  
  
Visions instantly flooded Max's mind: the crystal ball, the romance between Dhelmanex and Lilith and the awful pain and sorrow she had witnessed toward the end. The last vision caused tears to well up in his own eyes. The pain almost caused him to break the kiss they had waited so long to share - almost.  
  
More visions flashed through his mind. These weren't from the cave. These were older memories and yet....some seemed too impossible to have happened at all.  
  
Flashes of a broken planet - Earth - whirled by, millions of dead people laying everywhere, he and Liz - an older version - in the Granolith chamber, him warping through time and space to land outside Liz's window, asking for help. Flashes of Liz's attempt to severe the tie between them in order to save the world sent a painful jolt of guilt through his heart over the way he'd treated her before he went to New York.  
  
"Oh, Liz!", he whispered, finally breaking the kiss. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Knowing what he'd just seen, Liz leaned forward, sobbing into his shoulder. "Me too, Max. Me too."  
  
  
  
Michael stood at the entrance to Maria's room, staring at the mess covering most of the floor. He had seen disasters like this on television. His own apartment had looked similar when Topolsky had ransacked it looking for the orb.  
  
"Maria!"  
  
Her head popped up from the other side of the bed, her long, honey-blond hair covering most of her face. "Yeah?" She sounded like she'd just run a marathon.  
  
"What are doing?"  
  
She took a deep breath. "Well, after our little trip with Laurie, mom bought an answering machine so I could check in if anything like that happens again - which she made clear better not. Anyway, dad called this morning when no one was here. I was going to call him back and I deleted the damn message. I have his number here somewhere. I just can't find it."  
  
Michael waded through the mess, stepping only where he was sure he wouldn't break anything. Gingerly, he sat down on the bed. "Your dad? I didn't know you communicated with him anymore."  
  
"We don't much.", she admitted. That was an understatement. She had only talked to him about ten times in the last ten years. She still blamed him for breaking up their family and leaving her and her mom to rot in Roswell. "He said it was important. I'd like to know what he was talking about."  
  
"You think he's coming back to Roswell?"  
  
"I don't know, Michael. I'd like to find out though."  
  
Michael reached down on the floor, picked up a pair of jeans that looked to be two sizes smaller than the others and reached into the back pocket. Pulling out a piece of notebook paper, he handed it to her.  
  
Maria unfolded it and, finding what she'd been searching for, started making her way through the mess she'd made. "Aliens.", she muttered as she left Michael sitting on the bed.  
  
Sighing, Michael followed reluctantly. He didn't feel as happy as he should for Maria. After all, her dad might be coming home to be more involved in his daughter's life or maybe he was taking a job close by. Michael would believe it when he saw it and not a moment before. People sucked. He'd said before and he'd continue until it became the exception rather than the rule.  
  
Leaning against the kitchen counter, he watched as Maria dialed the number and then hung up a few seconds later. "Your call not be connected at this time. Please try again.", she said, mimicking the prissy operator's voice.  
  
"Don't worry.", Michael said. "He'll probably call back."  
  
She sighed. "Yeah. Probably. Hey, you talked to Liz today?"  
  
"No,", he said. "Me and Isabel left before she got to Max's. Even though they're dealing with stuff important to all of us, we felt they needed some time alone, especially after what you told us."  
  
Covering her face with her hands, she groaned. "I can't believe I said that. That was like super secret and I spilled it."  
  
Michael hugged her, running his hands up and down her back, trying to soothe her worries. "No one's going to say anything.", he assured her.  
  
"God, I hope not." 


End file.
